Odin (Alien Adoption Agency #5) - Tasha Black Page 0,36

he admitted.

“Why?”

“I said before that I didn’t want to talk about it, and I still don’t,” he told her. “But I wanted you to know that it had nothing to do with you.”

Her face was troubled, but she didn’t ask any more questions.

He bridled the stag-mare in silence and helped Liberty on before climbing up after her.

29

Liberty

When they reached town, Liberty held still while Odin dismounted, then took his hand when he offered it to help her down.

The feeling was bittersweet. It was a relief not to have him holding her, sending her emotions into a tailspin.

But she missed his touch so much that it hurt when he let go.

She pushed the thoughts aside and slipped the scanner out of her pocket as he tied up their mount. If this thing worked as well as she hoped, they might actually have a shot at finding the stolen sheep.

“Where to first?” Odin asked, brushing his hands off on his breeches.

“I had a thought,” she said. “Remember when we were going to see the marshals?”

“Sure,” he told her.

“The saloon next door had an awful lot of wooden crates on a caddy,” she said. “It occurred to me that each of those crates was big enough to hold a sheep. Maybe they weren’t all for whiskey.”

“Interesting,” Odin said, nodding. “Let’s check it out.”

It was a beautiful morning. Liberty was finally getting used to the lack of direct sunlight, and she could appreciate the view of the shaded streets and the tidy little shops just opening up for the day.

A baker opened her door, releasing the fragrance of fresh bread and something incredibly sweet. They passed a cozy shop with outdoor seating, and the scent of the coffee was so good it made her mouth water.

“Coffee grows well on Lachesis,” Odin remarked. “The soil here is rich and moist.”

Liberty tried to envision what life here would be like as Colton grew older. She could picture him, a scarlet-skinned, dark-haired boy, playing with the other children in the park across the street, or moving shay-puzzle pieces on one of the hologram boards.

“Lovely family,” a woman with waving tentacles instead of hair said kindly as she passed them.

“Thank you,” Liberty replied, not having the heart to correct her.

The truth was, she wanted them to be a family. She had thought they would be. As much as the idea of the mate bond scared her, and in spite of the love she still felt for Wyn, it had felt right.

But feelings could be deceiving. Clearly the desire to mate for life had been fleeting for Odin.

Why would he be mad at himself? For wanting her?

She was beginning to realize how foolish she had been - so hung up on her own doubts that she hadn’t stopped to think that Odin might have doubts of his own.

Maybe his desire for the bond was real, but it was ingrained in him - not something he had chosen.

That was an awful thought. Being forced to bond to another without love, without knowing each other well enough to have mutual respect… What a loss of freedom.

Her heart went out to him, even as she realized that the mate bond had done the same to her.

Would she ever have been willing to betray her love for Wyn if not for that undeniable bond?

“We probably shouldn’t walk right up to the back,” Odin said, interrupting her dark thoughts.

“Good point,” Liberty said, pulling her transmitter out and punching in a few buttons before replacing it in her pocket. “Follow my lead. We’re going to head into the saloon.”

30

Odin

Odin followed, wondering what her plan was.

Just as they were about to enter the saloon, her transmitter gave out a beep.

“Oh darn,” she said, slipping it out and glancing at the screen. “I have to take this. Hello?”

He watched in awe as she pretended to take the fake call, pacing expertly in front of the saloon.

He trailed her, like any well-behaved husband, paying attention to their surroundings in the hopes that he could keep her out of trouble.

“No, no, no,” she said, finally turning the corner around the back of the building. “No, I tried to tell Rydyx that we weren’t interested in the blue.”

She gave him a look and he grabbed the scanner from his satchel and followed her closer to the crates.

He waited until she was talking again before activating it.

There was a low beep as it turned on, but the feed was inactive after that.

He moved closer to the crates, still nothing.

“What are you